Jeremy Corbyn heaps praise on Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s stance on Palestine: “It has been the making of those bands”
Jeremy Corbyn has heaped praise on Bob Vylan and Kneecap for their support of Palestine, saying their outspoken stance “has been the making of those bands”.
The Your Party co-founder was appearing on the latest episode of the 101 Part Time Jobs podcast, hosted by Giles Bidder, where among other topics he came to discuss the impact of music in changing the current political discourse around the conflict in Gaza.
In general, the MP said that the general public often “learn more about politics from artists” as opposed to politicians themselves, which then lead him on to the subject of both Bob Vylan and Kneecap.
“It has been the making of those bands, actually,” he continued, before adding, “Kneecap and Bobby Vylan have done well out of it, in a good way. I’m not critical of them at all, quite the opposite. But they’ve done it in a very good way.”
Corbyn previously took to the stage at Wide Awake festival earlier this year to speak to the audience about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, where Kneecap were also headlining the event.
Making an example of the two bands for how to correctly use their platform, the former Labour party leader said it was “absolutely crucial” for other artists to follow suit.
“I think you should, and I think there’s nothing wrong whatsoever in an artist of any sort saying, ‘Well, actually, I believe what’s going on in Gaza is wrong. This is why I believe it’s wrong’,” he explained.
Elsewhere across the span of the interview, Corbyn also spoke of his love for Joan Baez and rap music, as well as standing up for the grassroots music movement.
“Let’s defend festivals, defend music venues… learn music at school and enjoy what comes with it… music inspires people during adversity,” he said.
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